Chicago Style Citation Generator with Complete Guide

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Tips to use the citation generator

Choose the citation style

Follow your professor's guidelines or consult your university's website.

Doublecheck the source

Ensure correct rules for different sources like websites, articles, books. Edit or manually create citations if required.

Check the citation fields

Verify the automatically filled fields with your source. Make edits as needed.

Generate your citation

Confirm style, source, and fields, then generate your citation. Don't forget to create and download your paper's reference list.

How to Cite in Chicago Style

First presented in 1906, Chicago style citation takes honorary place of most respected and commonly accepted writing formats for American English. Already reaching 17th edition, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is used for both research papers and manuscripts that are ready for being published. Still, the majority of college and university students in the USA find it challenging when it comes to correct citing. In order to make citation work easier, we offer Chicago citation maker that can easily handle most source types.

What makes Chicago styling difficult for students is its usage of two different citation patterns that are applied depending on the subject. If one has to deliver papers for History, Literature, and Arts, most college professors recommend using “Notes-Bibliography” style. Physics, Social and Natural Sciences subjects require classic “Author-Date” citation. Even though it might sound confusing in the beginning, our practical Chicago style guide with examples will help you see how each rule works in practice.

Footnotes, Notes and In-Text Citing in Chicago Format

In our Chicago citation guide, we provide both citing patterns, so one can see specifics when using notes. An important point is that when a certain source is mentioned, a note or footnote should be placed with the corresponding number. A superscript numbering is used for such purposes.

Chicago Citation Format example

When using notes for a second or any subsequent time, full publication details are not included, as one will see in templates.

Footnote or an endnote citation:

1 First Last name, Book (Publication: Publisher, Publication year), page number.

If there is one author

Last, First name. Book. Publication location: Publisher, year.

When citing in-text, first source mentioning only implements corresponding number. In following parenthetical citing, use these examples:

….which has helped to support (Dawnes 2004, 12).
In a 2004 report, Dawnes (112) has helped to support social research based on…
Use the Chicago book chapter citation generator when you need to refer to a specific part of a book.

Two authors citation

(Kern and Wilders 2002, 121)

Three authors citation

(Curtis, Frank, and Zachary 2012, 34)

Four or more authors in Chicago citation

(Jansen et al. 2017, 213)

Organization as an author citation

Provide organization, source title or abbreviation:

(NATO 2000, 134)
(“Polar Bears Safety” 2004, 12)

Unknown author

(“Red Tower History” 2015, 32)

Unknown page number

(Harris 2016, para. 2:34)

Unknown date citing

(Hicks n.d., 118)

Multi-volume source

(Ryan 2005, 2:35)

Authors with same last name

(Clang R. 2010 and Clang S. 2011)

Two or more works by same author, same year

Add corresponding letter after publishing year:

(Marx 2010a) and (Marx 2010b)

Multiple sources in same citation

(Jagger 2011, 21; Gilmour 2012, 738)

Indirect in-text citation

(quoted in Paster 2015, 12)

Periodicals

Lectures and presentations

Lecturer. “Lecture.” Lecture, Location of Lecture, Month Day, Year of Lecture.
Leiton, Warren. “Sociology Introduction.” Lecture, London, July 17, 2005.

For notes:

1. Lecturer, “Lecture” (lecture, Location of Lecture, Month Day, Year of Lecture).
1 Warren Leiton, “Sociology Introduction” (lecture, London, July 17, 2005).

Following notes:

Leiton, “Sociology Introduction.”

Academic Sources / Interviews

Governmental documents

If source cited is in print, reference it like any other document, dissertation or report.

An URL should be added. When citing first note, provide all identifying information same as in Bibliography page.

Seattle Forensic Bureau. Bureau of Criminology. Criminal Database Template. Seattle,
WA: Seattle Dept. of Criminology, Division of Forensic Research, Bureau of Investigation, 2006. http://www.site.org/.

Interviews

Author. “Interview’s title.” Interview by Name, Last Name. Program,
Organization, Date. Audio, Time (xx:xx). URL.
King, Larry. “Cold War Ethics.” Interview by William James. Tonight Host Show, CNBC, April 7,
2011. Audio, 32:26. http://www.site.com

For note:

1 Larry King, “Cold War Ethics,” Interview by William James, Tonight Host Show, CNBC,
April 7, 2011, Audio, 32:26. http://www.site.com

For notes that follow:

1 King, interview.

Why Use Chicago Style Bibliography Generator

Writing an academic assignment in Sociology or Arts paper, even most common ideas and arguments should be supported by academic sources to make research reliable. A reason why Chicago citing is important is the avoidance of plagiarism. Generally, research papers can include from 10 to 15 diverse sources that include books, academic journals, and different media. It is no wonder that even the best college students easily get confused and spend hours with diverse sources as they cite Chicago style. To make citation easier and faster, we offer Chicago citation maker as it helps with:

  • Automatic and manual citation styles where available information can be entered by hand.
  • Choosing between resource types.
  • “Date and Author” and “Notes” citations generated.
  • Chicago citation generator helps to avoid plagiarism as machine documents each source in correct way.
  • Free 24/7 online help with no ads or registering.

FAQ

Is Turabian format the same as Chicago?

No, it is not the same because Turabian is alike to simplified version of Chicago. This Manual of Style can maintain complex and professional research papers that can be
published later on. Turabian, even though based on CMOS, has less rules and is more accessible for high school students and colleges.

What are Bibliography page requirements?

Start Bibliography page from new document’s page. “Bibliography” should be centered at the top. Use Times New Roman, 12 point font. List sources alphabetically. If no author is provided, use titles.

What are cover page rules?

Start with title center alignment. It should begin approximately half down your document. Following lines should include professor, course, and paper’s date. Each line should be centered. Page numbers are not used in Chicago’s cover page. Title page does not include word count, if not told otherwise.

Where to insert multimedia sources and in what order?

As a rule, Chicago style citations should be listed alphabetically. Books and articles, as long as they come from print resources, can be listed together. However, if there are multimedia sources
like audio, video, and images, they should be listed in a separate list.

What are fonts and indents rules for page layout?

  • Implement 1” margins at sides, bottom, and top of each page.
  • Times New Roman, 12 point font
  • Use double spacing for all paper’s text.